Ron Tindiglia, a television news consultant who had earlier been the general manager of WCBS-TV and the news director of WABC-TV, both in New York, died on Nov. 10 at United Hospital in Port Chester, N.Y. He was 51 and lived in Harrison, N.Y.
His wife, Misti, said the cause was lung cancer.
At the time of his death, Mr. Tindiglia headed his own company, Ron Tindiglia Enterprises, a consulting firm for television news programs.
Early in his career, he was news director of WPVI-TV, the ABC station in Philadelphia. He became news director of WABC-TV, Channel 7 in New York, in February 1976, when he was 29.
He was widely credited with helping to develop the ''Eyewitness News'' format and with helping build the careers of the anchor Ernie Anastos, the sports announcer Warner Wolf and other local news figures in New York and Philadelphia.
In 1979, Mr. Tindiglia left WABC-TV to join CBS as vice president for news for CBS-owned stations. He then served as station manager of the two largest CBS stations, KNXT-TV in Los Angeles and WCBS-TV, Channel 2 in New York.
In 1987, he created his own company and was a consultant to news broadcasts in local stations, and to such syndicated programs as ''Inside Edition'' and ''Hard Copy,'' his wife said.
He also developed a syndicated program called ''Today's Business,'' a forerunner to many business news programs and cable channels.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Tindiglia, a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, is survived by a son, Jeremy, of Flagstaff, Ariz.; a daughter, Nicole, of Larchmont, N.Y., and a brother, Peter, of Phoenix.
Additionally: http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/bp11/rontindiglia.html
